Dunston Hall Estate Wedding Photography ♡ Holly & Daniel

Taking a look at Holly & Dan’s beautiful Dunston Hall Estate wedding in Derbyshire.

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○ What’s your love story?

We met when we both worked as librarians, Holly started working at the library where Dan was (there were over 400 applicants for the position Holly got so it feels a little like fate!). Dan was instantly smitten and immediately showed Holly were all the beautiful and interesting books were so he was flirting from day 1. We started out as friends and colleagues but slowly became closer and after about 2 years eventually went out together on a date-but-not-saying-its-a-date to the cinema. After only a couple of months, Dan went away on holiday, came back, and decided he didn’t want to be away from Holly any longer so moved in with her! 7 years, a new house and 2 cats later and we’re now getting married!

○ Why did you choose Dunston Hall Estate as your wedding venue?

We were really thorough when looking at our options on locations to get married. Overall, we looked at about a dozen venues across three counties. An important part to us was having a place we and the bridal party could stay overnight. We thought we had one chosen ‘the one’ and were about to go ahead with it … then we went to Dunston Hall. Dunston was kind of an afterthought (sorry Dunston Hall staff!). But Dunston Hall blew everything else out of the water in every possible way. Apart from being stunningly beautiful and having a gorgeous house to stay in overnight, the staff and support we’ve had at Dunston really sold it to us. Nothing is ever too much trouble and if they don’t know the answer to a question, they will look it up and come back to you. When we got to the food tasting, that was ‘unreal’ in Holly’s words. Exceptionally tasty and the catering team were really interested in our thoughts and feedback. The staff in general couldn’t have done more for us. In summary, they’re super professional and supportive which we’ve really come to appreciate as planning a wedding is enjoyable but hard and sometimes stressful! Plus Dunston has a lovely library which we appreciated and was the cherry on top!

○ What is the style/theme/vibe of your wedding?

As book-lovers and former librarians, a theme is literary works. Books and stories feature heavily as part of our decor. We also have a love for plants and growing things so we are having beautiful spring flowers intermingled amongst the books and throughout. Plus lots of candles. To us it has a hygge vibe. We are unintentionally hobbit-like and this is reflected in our wedding style!

○ What music are you walking down the aisle to / first dance and why?

Holly is walking down the aisle to Canon in D by Pachelbel which is very classic bridal music. We wanted something classical that sounds brilliant on our string quartet and the song holds a lot of history that we want to connect to. In contrast, our first dance is ‘Love is Easy’ by McFly. We’re both big fans of McFly and love their chilled out vibe. This song really resonates with us as we find being in each other’s company so natural and it really sums up how we feel about each other.

○ What are you most looking forward to on the day?

Getting married! And celebrating with friends and family. Celebrating our relationship and the beginning of a new chapter together is also really important to us.

○ Describe your ideal wedding day in 3 words:

Happiness, laughter, togetherness.

○ Why do you like natural wedding photography?

Holly – ‘Because I feel awkward in front of a camera!’. Sasha helps to make us feel at ease. Nothing too staged – we feel natural wedding photography captures the day more as it is. Sasha also blends into the background – in a good way! We then get pictures of things we didn’t see which is a lovely surprise not only for us as the bride and groom but for the people in the pictures when they see them.

○ Would you recommend having an engagement photoshoot?

Absolutely. Not only was it lovely to meet Sasha beforehand and know if we’d work well together as people but it was a good indicator of how the wedding pictures might look. The photos we got were so brilliant that we ended up using them on our wedding website. We also plan to dot them around the venue on our wedding day.

○ Any advice for future brides & grooms planning their day?

Do what is right for you as a couple, not others, it is your day. Go with your gut. Book your suppliers early if you can and put your trust in them. Spreadsheets are your friend. Ensure you have time together as a couple where you’re not talking about the wedding. There are loads of beautiful venues out there, but if their communication with you is poor its a red flag. Weddings are stressful enough without having to chase your own venue/vendors!

○ Kind words:

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Venue : Dunston Hall Estate
Bride’s Dress : Ellis Bridals & Rosaria Amore Bridal
Veil : Nora Eve
Groom’s Suit : Peter Posh & C.W. Waddingtons
Hair : Derbyshire Bride
Makeup : Derbyshire Bride
Flowers : Herbivore
Cake : Celebrity Cakes
Videographer : FlatWhiteFilm
Quartlet : Northern String Quartet
Decor : Perfect Day Stylists
Stationary : Origami Fox Wedding
Confetti : Your Confetti
Woodland Games : Rustic Woodland Games
Bridesmaid Dress : Rewritten London